New era dawns at Irish Examiner

Property Editor

City Manager Joe Gavin has already identified the site, which stretches three city blocks from Academy Street past Bowling Green Street and Faulkner’s Lane to Dunnes Stores, as prime for redevelopment for shops, headed up by a new department store.

Another adjoining and significant land-owner, motor dealers Johnson and Perrott, is also preparing to move out of Emmet Place to a new site on the South Douglas Road. Taken together, the two businesses vacating the area will help to square off the most pivotal retail site option to come on the market in the city centre in decades. Several property owners on Patrick Street and on Academy Street will become involved in any redevelopment.

The TCH site could be worth in the order of 20-30 million, and support a retail scheme worth well in excess of 100 million. It could attract a department store like Debenhams, who are due in Cork’s Mahon Point scheme development.

Possible developers of the Patrick Street/Emmet Place/Academy Street block include Treasury Holdings, O’Callaghan Properties, O’Flynn Construction and Howard Holdings.

TCH managing director Anthony Dinan yesterday confirmed the Irish Examiner’s historic base on Academy Street, since 1841, was being put on the market.

TCH is also looking to sell a nearby site it owns on Lavitt’s Quay and Half Moon Street, for which it recently got planning permission for a mixed scheme of offices, shops, restaurant and bar.

Employees were told yesterday afternoon that the company intends to sell the five-storey quayside office building site, and lease back two floors of offices for its own staff use.

No decision has yet been taken on where a new printing press will be located, said Mr Dinan.

The move from Academy Street would not be an instant one, and the time schedule would be in the order of three to five years, he indicated.